Decorum of modern office and other similar environments has in many instances declined to such an extent that personnel who are busily engaged in efforts requiring substantial concentration and/or who do not otherwise wish to be disturbed are nevertheless interrupted by conversation originating from other personnel. The interruptions occur in many different environments, for example, in large rooms where staff are closely situated and are separated by partitions between work stations occupied by individual workers, and in small rooms occupied by two or more persons. The interruptions frequently result in prolonged chit-chat between personnel, resulting in low productivity, and in many instances, poor morale. Managerial and professional workers who occupy individual rooms are also frequently interrupted by personnel who knock on closed doors and then barge into the room.
In addition, many office environments are quite drab, being equipped with battleship grey desks and light grey computer work stations. These drab surroundings frequently have an adverse effect on productivity because they cause subliminal depression in many workers. These conditions sometimes result in lack of a concerted team effort on the part of the personnel.
In some offices and other similar environments, "do not disturb" signs are used to signal the unwillingness of a worker to be interrupted. However, "do not disturb" signs may have an adverse effect on visitors to the location where they are displayed.